The relationship between the severity of a neurological condition and the blood coagulation/fibrinolytic system in patients with spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage

In order to examine the relationship between the hemostatic systems and the severity of neurological changes, shortly after spontaneous subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) we reviewed 30 patients who had been admitted within 6 hours after the onset of SAH. Peripheral blood samples were obtained within 6 hours of the onset of SAH. There was a significant correlation between increased values of serum antithrombin III, thrombin-antithrombin III complexes, fibrinopeptide Bbeta15-12. D-dimers, and the neurological severity of SAH. The data suggests that the activation of the blood coagulation system as well as the fibrinolytic system (especially the secondary fibrinolysis) occurs early in the course of SAH, particularly in patients with a severe neurological conditions.